Joe Trahan, the 2026 recipient of UNT’s Adjunct Award for Teaching Excellence, brings the professional world to the classroom in his sports media relations course. | |
Faculty Success Newsletter
April 2026
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Message from the Vice Provost for Faculty Success
Greetings Mean Green Colleagues,
Welcome to our month of faculty celebrations, where we honor our 2026 Salute to Faculty Excellence award recipients! This is truly one of my favorite times of year in Faculty Success, and I look forward to celebrating the more than 35 faculty members whose excellence in teaching, leadership, research, and service strengthens our university community.
Faculty Success and the University Libraries will also celebrate our 2026 faculty book authors in the Salute to UNT Faculty Book Authors Celebration on April 21 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in Union 333C. I hope you will join us in acknowledging the many talents of our faculty authors.
I am excited to announce that applications for our 2026-2027 Faculty Fellows Program are now open, along with other leadership development opportunities in Student Success, International Affairs, and LEEF. Interested full-time faculty and librarians are encouraged to discuss these opportunities with their dean and other unit leaders before beginning the application. Read on for details!
While Faculty Success has paused the Broadening Faculty Recognition Initiative during the college restructuring process, our commitment to ensuring equitable recognition of faculty contributions in research, teaching, and service remains strong. We will share more information soon about opportunities for faculty to provide input and help shape this important work.
As we approach the end of the semester, I encourage you to take a moment to recognize the many ways our faculty support one another, our staff, and our students. Even a simple “thank you” — or a shout-out through the The North Texas Way — can make a meaningful difference in helping a colleague feel valued and appreciated.
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Holly Hutchins, Ph.D. (she/her)
Vice Provost, Faculty Success
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Student Portraits Data Symposium
April 30 | Gateway Center
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Enjoy keynotes by UNT Athletics, Student Assessment, and the Learning Ecosystem for Empowering Futures; customize your day with more than 30 learning and poster sessions; and leave with strategies and tools for using data to support student success.
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Learning That Works: Transforming Teaching for Impact Through Work-Integrated and Project-Based Learning
May 1 | Gateway Center
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Hosted by LEEF and led by faculty from the Department of Multidisciplinary Innovation, this symposium explores how classrooms, community partners, and workplaces form a learning ecosystem that supports student success through authentic, applied education.
| | | | Faculty Fellows: Call for Proposals | | Whether you're an experienced leader or looking to build your skills, we encourage you to submit a proposal for a 2026-2027 UNT faculty fellowship! | | | | | |
The Global Faculty Fellows program, administered by International Affairs, focuses on advancing campus internationalization for faculty. Fellows receive mentorship in global teaching, scholarship, and engagement.
Proposals are due by April 20, 2026.
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Faculty Success oversees the Faculty Leadership Fellows program, which is designed for emerging faculty leaders, as well as the Academic Affairs Fellows program, which offers established faculty leaders an opportunity to lead and collaborate on university initiatives.
Submit your proposal through InfoReady by April 27, 2026.
| | 2025-2026 Faculty Leadership and Academic Affairs Fellows | | | | |
Through the Student Success Fellows program, faculty can contribute to UNT's student success initiatives while gaining experience in academic leadership, cross-institutional collaboration, and strategic implementation.
Proposals are due by April 27, 2026.
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The Educator Fellows program invites UNT educators to partner with one of LEEF's units in advancing evidence-based teaching, faculty development, and curricular coherence across UNT.
Proposals are due by May 15, 2026.
| | | Jincheng Du, Distinguished Research Professor and chair of materials science and engineering, was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences in recognition of his distinguished contributions to materials chemistry. Dr. Du will be formally inducted at the May 29 Fellows Forum in Washington, D.C. | | | | |
News Roundup
- The Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures kicked off its Career Readiness Workshop Series, created by Professor Jiyoung Yoon, director of student career development. Dr. Yoon will also be presenting a poster session on career-readiness at the Student Portraits Data Symposium!
- UNT English celebrated the annual launch of the North Texas Review, the department’s student journal, and marked its 54th year of production. Lecturer Ross Wilcox will assume the role of faculty advisor this fall, taking the baton from Lauren Kalsted.
- Led by Dr. Juliana D’Andrilli, associate professor of biological sciences, a team of UNT researchers is studying how life survives in Earth’s harshest environments — and how it could be sustained in space — with support from a $1 million grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
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On April 24, updated regulations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act will take effect for public universities, placing greater emphasis on ensuring that websites, mobile applications, digital instructional materials, and other online resources are designed to be accessible.
UNT's Universal Design for Learning (UDL) initiative was created to help faculty and staff build knowledge, explore practical strategies, and access tools that make accessibility improvements both achievable and sustainable.
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LinkedIn is coming to UNT!
We hope you'll encourage your students to get a fun (and free) career-ready boost before heading into summer. Faculty and staff are also invited to both events.
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Open to Work Lab
April 21 • 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
University Union 314
This interactive experience focuses on what work looks like right now and how students can stand out as they enter the workforce. Attendees will also hear from LinkedIn’s Chief Economic Opportunity Officer, Aneesh Raman, and get a free copy of Open to Work: How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI.
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Campus Commons Experience
April 20-22 • 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
BLB Level 1
Short on time? Stop by the Business Commons for a quick, practical boost.
- Create or update your LinkedIn profile
- Take a free professional headshot
- Explore the skills needed in today’s job market
- Grab a free Career Starter Kit
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University Research Day:
Call for Poster Abstracts
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All UNT faculty, principal investigators, and student researchers are invited to submit a poster abstract for consideration at the University Research Day Poster Networking Session on Oct. 1, 2026.
Posters will be accepted through May 29.
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Wall Street Journal Subscription
Did you know the Ryan College of Business has a subscription to The Wall Street Journal that's available to students, faculty, and staff? Just visit the link, search "University of North Texas," and authenticate with your UNT credentials.
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UNT Libraries in Canvas
Did You Know? You and your students can easily reach the Libraries homepage from anywhere in Canvas through the Help feature, which is the last link on the left-hand navigation bar.
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Other Ways to Integrate UNT Libraries into Canvas
The Click to Count initiative seeks to ensure that every use of an online journal gets counted. Instead of sharing copies of articles directly with students, provide a link to the article on the website of the publisher or database.
Many Subject and Course Guides can be embedded directly into Canvas, and loading your Subject Librarian directly into each of your course sections as a TA makes it easy for them to help you prepare readings and assignments, see syllabi and assignments to better help your students, and provide on-the-spot assistance to students at the point of need.
| | The Soundbox is a music makerspace where UNT community members can create and explore the world of sound. With equipment ranging from synthesizers to digital audio workstations kitted out with Logic, Ableton, and Max, the Soundbox supports music technology needs for beginners and experts alike. Faculty can book in-class instruction and in-house workshops that connect to course curricula. | | |
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Nominate an Integrity Champion
The UNT Integrity Champion Program celebrates individuals across our community who lead with ethical decision-making at every opportunity.
Nominate a Champion who goes above and beyond to foster a culture of integrity.
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Research Security Training
As a reminder, Research Security Training must be completed annually by all researchers with continuing or proposed research projects.
Questions? Contact Sarah Romack, director of ethics and international research compliance.
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