Faculty Success Newsletter

March 2025

Message from the Vice Provost for Faculty Success

Greetings Mean Green Colleagues,

Happy Women’s History Month and UNT Staff Appreciation Month! From our Mean Green basketball teams’ (women and men) winning seasons to our Fulbright winners, UNT has remarkable and caring faculty, staff, and students. ICYMI, be sure to read more about how UNT celebrates women in media arts, particularly Dr. Jennifer Gómez Menjívar’s teaching and scholarship of women in film.

Speaking of ways to soar, the big reveal of our 2025 Salute to Faculty Excellence award winners is included in this issue. Faculty Success is refreshing our website to make it easier to navigate and find programs meant for you. Check us out to gain valuable writing time with our faculty writing group gathering, learn about applying for the next round of Faculty Development Leave , and dive into project-based learning as a curricular approach hosted by our colleagues in the College of Applied and Collaborative Studies (to name just a few events!). In this month's newsletter, you'll also find NCFDD webinars and resources to help you manage your time, energy, and perspective as we look toward the remaining weeks of the spring term.

As we head into Spring Break, I hope you each find some time to calm your wings and kick up your talons to have some fun.

Talons Up!

Holly Hutchins, Ph.D. (she/her)

Vice Provost, Faculty Success

On the Calendar

March 18

Enhance Active Student Engagement Workshop: Be More Approachable with Easy DIY Course Videos

DSI CLEAR

March 20

Enhance Instructor Presence and Promote Student Success through Effective Assessment & Feedback using Canvas Studio

DSI CLEAR

March 21

Designing a New Faculty Led Program Workshop – Virtual

UNT Study Abroad

March 26

Enhance Active Student Engagement Workshop: Be More Approachable with Easy DIY Course Videos – Virtual

DSI CLEAR

Faculty Kudos

Congratulations to this year's UNT Foundation Award winners (pictured clockwise): Dr. Francis D'Souza, Eminent Faculty; Dr. M. Jean Keller, Faculty Leadership; Professor Brenda Sweeten, Community Engagement; and Dr. Benjamin Graf, Outstanding Lecturer. We look forward to celebrating faculty award winners from across the university at the UNT Salute to Faculty Excellence Awards Celebration in April.

Dr. Arunima Datta, assistant professor of history, has accepted a Visiting Fellowship from Queen Mary University of London. She will be hosted by Professor Alison Blunt (School of Geography) and the Centre for Studies of Home.

Jenn Castillo with Mariela Nunez Janes and Zachary Prater

The Juntxs, or “Together,” project — also known as the Bilingual Homework Hotline — recently received awards and recognition from across the state. Led by Jenn Castillo (teaching fellow, teacher education and administration), Dr. Mariela Nuñez-Janes (professor, anthropology) and instructional assistant Zachary Prater, the project offers homework assistance and academic support to K-12 students in Denton Independent School District and beyond.

2025 UNT Fulbright Faculty Recognition Reception group photo

Past, present and future Fulbrighters gathered Feb. 24 for the annual Fulbright Faculty Recognition Reception hosted by International Affairs.

Back row left to right:

Vice Provost Amy Shenberger, Rose Baker, Sarah Moore, Daniel Alemneh, Gerald Knezek, James Thurman, Provost Michael McPherson, Lawrence Williams, Dan Kim, Vice Provost Holly Hutchins

Front row left to right:

Xun Ge, Dornith Doherty, Kimi King, Julie Leventhal, Adam Manfredi, Glen Biglaiser, Amanda Bennett, Feifei Pan

Learn how international exchange through Fulbright faculty opportunities can enrich your teaching and research.

NCFDD Spotlight

Check out the March lineup of live Zoom sessions offered by NCFDD, an external professional development, training and mentoring community designed to help professionals thrive in academia. All sessions are free through your UNT institutional NCFDD membership.

March 11

Navigating Uncertainty in Higher Ed: Strategies for Faculty

Learn strategies to help you break the stress cycle, (re)claim a sense of agency in your work and develop a practical plan to support key professional and personal goals.

March 13

How to Develop a Daily Writing Practice

Learn about the three biggest myths about writing that hobble new faculty and leave with a 30-minute strategy to increase your productivity and decrease your stress, anxiety and guilt.

March 18

Virtual Writing Session

After a brief introduction, participants will write for 30 minutes and close out with reflections to reduce resistance and make writing feel like part of an everyday routine.

March 25

Mentoring Up for Faculty

Participate in evidence-based activities designed to address common challenges in mentoring relationships, from identifying your specific needs to aligning expectations with your mentor.

From the Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meetings

The UNT Faculty Senate usually meets in-person from 2 to 4 p.m. in University Union Room 332 on the second Wednesday of each month from September through June, with no meeting in January and a change of date for March/Spring Break as necessary. Any changes to the schedule, mode or location of the meeting will be posted on the Meeting Schedule page of the website. If you are unable to attend the monthly meeting in person, you can view the action live on Zoom or review the recording on the website shortly after the meeting.

Annual Elections

The Faculty Senate will hold its annual elections this month to fill senator and elected standing committee vacancies. Watch your inbox for the “Call for Nominations” Qualtrics survey email. A nominee must have at least two nominations from among the voting group faculty (one should be a self-nomination) to be included as a candidate on the ballot.

Stay Connected

We want to hear from you!

If you have suggestions or items you'd like to see in our newsletter, please email faculty.success@unt.edu by the 25th of each month. You also can find us on X at @UNTFacSuccess.

Faculty Success supports UNT faculty in developing their professional community, enriching their capabilities and advancing their careers.

facultysuccess.unt.edu

940-565-3987

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