Dear UNT Faculty and Staff,
It's with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Dr. Michael McPherson as UNT's next provost and vice president for academic affairs. I've enjoyed working with him since his March appointment as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, and it is clear to me that Dr. McPherson is well-prepared to serve as UNT's chief academic officer. He brings insight and innovation to the provost's office and has the collaborative skills needed to bring academic affairs to the next level in the ever-changing landscape of higher education.
Dr. McPherson, a professor of economics, joined the UNT faculty in 1992 and has made an impact in each of his leadership posts, which include Faculty Senate chairperson, acting dean of the Mayborn School of Journalism, associate vice provost for Faculty Success, special advisor to the provost, and vice provost for Student Success. Because of his extensive experience at UNT, he's well-versed in our challenges and is dedicated to resolving those and moving us ahead.
A recipient of the J.H. Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award, Dr. McPherson has shown himself to be a proud member of the Mean Green Family, dedicated to the vision of helping us build student success, transform our students' lives, and continue to grow UNT's Tier One reputation through research, scholarship, and creative activity.
I also want to inform you of the additional duties I have asked Dr. Adam Fein to assume as leader of the Division of Digital Strategy and Innovation. Earlier this year I tasked Dr. Fein with organizing our IT efforts to improve our efficiency and deliver better services while helping us collaborate with UNT System and ITSS. As UNT's interim chief information officer, he has been busy managing the many efforts of administrative IT and helping to guide our academic IT to provide critically needed IT services to our faculty, staff, and students.
In recognition of Dr. Fein's hard work and success in these areas, I have made this role permanent and updated his title to vice president for digital strategy and innovation and chief information officer. Dr. Fein's partnership with our UNT System IT colleagues will be pivotal in helping us negotiate the changing landscape of IT, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.
In a period of much change, I am confident these two strong, stable leaders will help guide us forward as an institution. Please join me in congratulating Dr. McPherson and Dr. Fein on their appointments.
UNT Proud,
Neal Smatresk
UNT President