At the 2015 State of the University, President Smatresk reviewed UNT's accomplishments for the past year and unveiled UNT's priorities for the 2015-16 academic year as part of university celebrations commemorating the day UNT was established in 1890 and 125 years of excellence and impact. The event formally kicked off UNT's 125th anniversary celebrations. Read the Denton Record-Chronicle's special issue celebrating UNT's 125th anniversary, which includes a column from President Smatresk.

At the 2015 State of the University, President Smatresk highlighted the progress UNT made last year, as outlined in the 2014-15 Accomplishments Summary and the 2014-15 Planning Implementation Report. He also outlined UNT's focus for the 2014-16 academic year, priorities that were developed with stakeholder input in the 2015 Planning Implementation Workshop, Owning Excellence. In that workshop, about 125 stakeholder explored three main topics on how the university can:

• Own excellence to achieve Tier One status
• Build community and win hearts and minds
• Close the gaps and make the pursuit of excellence fun

This year, UNT will focus on strengthening academics, research and reputation — essential ingredients for helping UNT to achieve national prominence. At the State of the University, President Smatresk detailed 2015-16 priorities for education, research and infrastructure. They include:

• Creating a one-stop student success center to improve retention
• Recruiting more National Merit and high-ability scholars
• Opening a UNT campus in Frisco and expanding programs and classes in Dallas to help UNT increase its prominence, reach and impact

To keep the university on track this year, President Smatresk assigned four Implementation Teams that will be accountable for delivering on UNT's goals:

• The Academic Implementation Team will be co-led by Finley Graves, provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Elizabeth With, vice president for student affairs.
• The Research Implementation Team will be led by Tom McCoy, vice president for research and economic development.
• The Operations and Infrastructure Implementation Team will be led by Bob Brown, vice president for finance and administration.
• The Enrollment Management Implementation Team will be led by Shannon Goodman, vice president for enrollment

Learn more about the Planning Implementation process[BROKEN LINK].

Read President Smatresk's State of the University Address (PDF)

Download the 2015 State of the University PowerPoint (PDF)

Read about the 2014 State of the University.