Remarks by President Gretchen M. Bataille

Feb. 17, 2010
President's Staff Sack Lunch

Farewell Address

We host Staff Sack Lunch to celebrate your accomplishments. We all know that students are the heart of UNT, but faculty and staff are its soul.

Today has special meaning for me because it will be the last Staff Sack Lunch I will have with you. As many of you know, I have resigned my position effective at the end of this month. I won't be taking questions at the end of today's session, but I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for everything. I've been overwhelmed by the show of support during my time here and in the last few days since making the announcement. It's made me realize more than ever that you haven't just been my colleagues and friends, you've become my family.

What I most want to say to you before I leave is how proud I am of all that we've accomplished together since I came here in 2006.

In my inauguration speech, I told you, "Higher education simply cannot continue to keep doing things 'the way we always have done them.' We must find new ways to successfully fulfill our obligations to 'deliver on America's promise.'"

And each one of you heeded that call to action. Each one of you helped UNT find a new way — a better way — to educate students, to nurture their development outside of the classroom, to prepare the next generation of leaders and thinkers, and to change the world through the discovery of new ideas. 

There are so many accomplishments to speak of, but I have to start with one dear to me. And these are indeed shared accomplishments.

I want to for us to talk about the Emerald Eagle Scholars program. This program, probably more than anything, represents why I have made higher education my life's work. As a first-generation college student myself, I know how far a degree can take you.

When I launched the Emerald Eagle Scholars program, I knew it had the power to change the students’ lives. And it has. This program has opened the door of opportunity to more than 1,200 students who have the drive but not the dollars to go to college. Two-thirds of these students are ethnic minorities. Three out of four of them are the first in their family to go to college, and because of the program, they likely will be the first in their family to earn a college degree.

But what I never really counted on was how much the program would change the lives of the people around these scholars. Their brothers, sisters, cousins and friends — sometimes even moms and dads — now see that if they work hard, opportunity awaits them, too. Mentors, including myself and many of you here today, understand more than ever how a few years of guidance can lay the foundation for a lifetime of success. And everyone else can see that nothing, not even a lack of resources, should hold someone back from earning a degree.

This program recognizes that our commitment to reaching out to students who need it goes a long way in helping the state close the gaps in education.

But we're closing the gaps in yet another way. The Staff Council, working with administrators and financial aid, has provided opportunities for our own staff to learn about how to fulfill their own educational goals and how to take advantage of the scholarships available. Scott and Rhonda and many others have been working tirelessly on your behalf. Each year, we have added funds to the scholarship pool so that no single one of you who wants to take classes will be turned away.

We have achieved many goals because of the hard work and passion of each one of our faculty and staff members — the more than 3,600 of you who make up the UNT family. Together, you work in concert to give students hands' on learning and one-on-one support. You each understand that a college experience rich in learning, opportunity and support can change a student's life. Many of you are on the front lines, greeting students in the cafeteria or helping them negotiate a difficult computer program — it is all part of what makes our students successful and makes them sure that choosing UNT was the right decision for them.

Time and time again, UNT has bridged cultural, financial and academic gaps while attending to the overarching goal of becoming one of the best. UNT now is firmly on the path of becoming a national research university, with a robust research program, an increased emphasis on research and creative activities, and new infrastructure to support innovation and the pursuit of knowledge.

Since I've been here, I've been proud that UNT has become a leader when it comes to issues of sustainability. We've become greener and leaner, not just in our practices but in our philosophy. And the new Office of Sustainability, working in partnership with UNT’s Sustainability Council, will extend that legacy into even more realms. Facilities staff, groundskeepers and housekeepers have all ensured that UNT explores every option, from bamboo-handled brooms to low-maintenance landscaping.

Of course, our green legacy now includes the new family of LEED buildings in the works. The Life Sciences Complex, the Business Leadership Building and the new football stadium not only represent a new era of building at UNT, they illustrate that the university remains focused on providing the three As: great academics, great arts and great athletics.

And people are seeing us in that light now.

I told you when I came here that I would work to elevate UNT's profile and grow our reputation.

And I believe we did that together.

We sounded the drum among the UNT family, calling on all of our faculty and staff to be ambassadors for the university. I reached out to alumni around the nation and the world to remind them how great UNT is and how much promise it holds. Our alumni network is now stronger than ever, with a greater sense of purpose and community.

We took our message to the streets with a strategic, national advertising campaign to build awareness so that our peers and others could get to know us better and learn more about our achievements and so that UNT students, staff, faculty and alumni would have a deeper sense of pride.

This culminated last fall in UNT being named among the top national universities that are "leading the pack" in innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus life, diversity and facilities by U.S. News & World Report. UNT was the only Texas public university to make that list.

Indeed, our stock has risen.

We have made tremendous gains. And I have no doubt that this momentum will continue because UNT's progress is not due to the work of a few, but rather due to the collective force of many. All of UNT's strides demonstrate that the students, the faculty, the staff and alumni here are change agents, motivated to be among the best. And that transformation will continue.

During my inauguration, I told you: "Today is a time to celebrate our great institution; I am proud to be the leader for this time, but I recognize I am only temporary. I will add my ideas and my contributions to those who came before me."

Those words still ring true today, three and a half years later.

The road I walked as president of UNT was well trodden by the presidents who came before me. But each one of us took a fork in the road that led UNT closer to greatness. You were each there, lighting my path, making my journey easier. I am forever grateful. And even though my time as UNT president is coming to an end, I know that the road ahead for UNT still leads to greatness. And I thank all of you.