Monday, July 1, 2024

Dear UNT System Community,

This afternoon, the UNT System Board of Regents voted unanimously to install Dr. Harrison Keller as UNT’s 17th president, effective Aug. 1.

I am excited for the future of UNT under Dr. Keller’s leadership. He is a transformational and accomplished leader, and his strategic and innovative guidance will strengthen UNT as a growing research university that puts students first.

As the current commissioner of Texas higher education, Dr. Keller has provided statewide leadership and coordination of higher education budget and policy for the world’s eighth-largest economy and brings with him deep experience implementing impactful statewide student success initiatives and a deep understanding of the future of higher education in Texas. In addition, his experience and accomplishment serving in university administration provides him important insight to the complexity of university operations.

I look forward to working with Dr. Keller once he is officially part of our UNT System team, and I hope each of you will join me in welcoming him when he arrives.

I want to again thank the UNT Presidential Search Advisory Committee for its dedication and effort, as well as President Smatresk for his decade of service to UNT and his commitment to continuing to guide the institution during this time of transition. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to our UNT faculty and staff members for all they continue to do to ensure our flagship university provides educational innovation and scholarly activity that transforms our students and benefits the world around us.

Our future is bright, and I hope you are as excited as I am about expanding UNT’s impact to our students, their families, and the communities we serve.

With Gratitude,

Michael R. Williams
UNT System Chancellor