Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024

Dear UNT Faculty and Staff,

The first week of school is underway, and our campus is once again abuzz with the energy and excitement of our students. A new year is always full of opportunities to refresh, create new goals, and excel in our work as we strive to help our students achieve their college dreams. As a caring and creative campus, we are committed to supporting each other and our students and to continuing the excellence that makes UNT one of the best universities in Texas and the nation. 

One way we’re supporting students is through the opening of the new UNT One Stop. The newly renovated space brings together admissions, student financial services, and student money management to provide students with a simplified, consistent service experience and a high level of on-site support. The newest addition to the UNT nest is located on the second floor of the ESSC (Eagle Student Services Center, east of the Library Mall).

Our semester is just getting started, but we already have a lot to celebrate. Last week marked one year since the grand opening of Frisco Landing, UNT at Frisco’s first permanent building. We’re also celebrating 20 years at Discovery Park, the largest research park in the North Texas region dedicated to sciences, technology, and engineering. I’m truly proud of the transformations happening across our university, and I look forward to seeing what the new year has in store for UNT.

As we start a new year, many of us are focused on improving our wellness and perhaps gaining better work-life balance. Wellness.unt.edu offers resources that will help you grow in all nine dimensions of our Wellness Wheel. If you’re looking to improve your physical fitness, I encourage you to sign up for the 2024 Get Fit Texas! State Agency Challenge. Starting Jan. 22, this 10-week challenge puts UNT staff and faculty up against other state agencies to log the most combined minutes of physical activity. It’s easy to sign up, and you can link your fitness device to automatically log your minutes. Register now to Show Your Fire and let the other Texas agencies see that at UNT, we’re Better Together! Also, be sure to get involved in UNT’s vibrant community with all the events happening on and around campus. Check out calendar.unt.edu for the latest.

I wish you all a successful semester and wonderful start to the new year. Go Mean Green!

UNT Proud, 
Neal Smatresk
President