DALLAS – UNT System Chancellor Lee Jackson announced today the reappointment of John Ellis Price as the chief executive officer of the University of North Texas at Dallas. Price was first appointed over the campus, the future UNT Dallas, in 2001.
Price will “continue to oversee the day-to-day operations of UNT Dallas as its chief executive officer and spokesperson, ensuring that the future UNT Dallas meets its short-term and long-term goals. He has done a very good job of nurturing relationships that will enhance the new university and help us meet the goals of the Dallas community and its students,” Jackson said.
Jackson also said that Price’s title would change from vice provost to vice chancellor, reflecting a clear line of authority within the UNT System. “His duties have grown in proportion to the growth of the Campus, and much of his work is now with me and various external groups, not just with UNT Denton,” Jackson said.
UNT Dallas began operations in the Spring 2000 semester and was designated by the state legislature to become the first and only public university within the City of Dallas. Enrollment began with only 55 students, but has risen to more than 1,800. The largest increase in enrollment occurred during the Fall 2007 semester, when the student headcount rose to 1,874, a 32 percent increase from the previous fall semester.
Most importantly for UNT Dallas, the full-time equivalent student enrollment rose to 814 in the Fall 2007 semester, a 22 percent increase over the previous fall. Under current legislation, the UNT UNT Dallas must reach 1,000 FTE before administrators open UNT Dallas, a comprehensive, four-year university.
Price said the growth of UNT Dallas has been “rewarding, but challenging.”
“More than anything, I realize that the growth of the UNT UNT Dallas would not have been possible without a great faculty and staff, all of whom are committed to fulfilling the mission of the UNT Dallas and the future UNT Dallas,” Price said.
The mission of UNT Dallas is to increase the number of citizens in Dallas and the North Texas region who hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and implement programs and partnerships that will help to increase the high school graduation and college-going rates in these areas.
Price will maintain his appointment as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Accounting at the University of North Texas.
UNT Dallas operates under the authority of the University of North Texas in Denton, the state’s fourth largest university, and is a component institution of the University of North Texas System. The Campus currently offers junior-, senior- and graduate-level courses leading to bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The Campus will become freestanding and open as UNT Dallas, the city’s first and only public university, by 2010.
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