Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022

Dear UNT Students,

We begin Spring 2022 with a significant jump in student enrollment, and we are so glad you're here. The expansion of our research enterprise, growth of our student population, and our new campus buildings in Frisco all point toward a dynamic and flourishing UNT. Thank you for choosing to study at UNT.

We are committed to helping every student prepare for professional success following graduation day, and we are making solid progress on our strategic focus to implement comprehensive career exploration and development initiatives for every student. Hiring continues for our career coaches, who will be embedded in each college, and we welcomed Eileen Buecher as our new assistant vice president for Student Affairs in Career and Leadership. She will work to better strengthen the career resources across our campus to best help you along your journey. We also celebrate a $5 million gift from alumnus Wilson Jones — the former president and CEO of Oshkosh Corporation — and his wife, Jane, to create The Wilson Jones Career Center in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business. These initiatives, along with several others we have launched over the past year, will ensure all students graduate with the skills necessary to help them succeed in their first job out of college and beyond.

As a new year's resolution, we hope to streamline your student inbox and make it easier to get key information in a one-stop-skim with UNT Weekly. The student newsletter will deliver to your official UNT student email account each Wednesday, and it will include reminders, campus happenings, upcoming events, study tips, giveaways, links to campus resources, and more. Be on the lookout for the first issue Jan. 19.

As you plan for the semester ahead, join us March 23 for the virtual Equity & Diversity Conference presented by Fidelity Investments. Themed “IDEAS for Change: History, Hope & Progress,” the conference will provide opportunities for centering the effects of historical and present-day oppression on minoritized communities for progress and change, and feature Juneteenth scholar Dr. Annette Gordon Reed as keynote speaker. Registration is free for all UNT students, faculty, and staff. You also can find plenty of other opportunities for events on our newly revamped university-wide calendar.

As we hope to see this pandemic peak and pass, I want to remind you all to keep safe. We strongly encourage our community to get vaccinated, utilize our free on-campus testing locations, and wear face coverings indoors to reduce the risk of infection for our community. I provide more information about safely navigating the spring semester in this video message.

This semester holds great opportunity, and I wish you luck on your academic journey. We want you to know that we're here to support you, to develop your careers, and to help you achieve your dreams.

UNT Proud,
Neal Smatresk
UNT President