Portrait of UNT Professor Andrey Voevodin

Dr. Andrey Voevodin, professor and associate dean for research in the College of Engineering, earned the prestigious R.F. Bunshah Award in recognition of his pioneering research in surface engineering, thin coatings and films.

Faculty Success Newsletter

May 2026

Message from the Vice Provost for Faculty Success

Greetings Mean Green Colleagues,

Welcome to the final week of the semester, when we celebrate the collective effort that has brought our students to the graduation milestone. Thank you for the dedication and care you’ve shown throughout the term.

Faculty Success is already preparing for the next cycle of awards and faculty grants. Nominations are now open for the 2027 Office of the Provost and UNT Foundation awards, with a submission deadline of October 12, 2026. Recipients will be honored at the Salute to Faculty Excellence ceremony next spring. We encourage you to visit the Faculty Success Award portal for award details and application guidelines.

For those interested in our three eminent professorships — Distinguished Teaching, Distinguished Research and Regents — we invite you to attend an interactive virtual information session on May 19. Read on for registration details!

Additionally, we've made some exciting updates to our internal grant programming. Our former conference travel and mentoring grants have been combined into a new Career Development Grants program. This enhanced initiative expands funding eligibility to support a broader range of faculty needs and aligns with priorities such as interdisciplinary collaboration, public and societal impact, innovation and entrepreneurship, and industry and community engagement.

This will be our final newsletter until August. We look forward to reconnecting with you soon. In the meantime, Faculty Success will be actively planning our 2026–2027 initiatives to support community building, capability development, career advancement and a thriving academic environment.

Talons Up!

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

Vice Provost, Faculty Success

On the Calendar

May 13

Final Faculty Senate Meeting of Spring 2026

2 p.m. in Union 332

OLLI at UNT Fall 2026 Course Proposal Deadline

Teaching for OLLI at UNT is a uniquely rewarding experience. No grades, no tests — just sharing what you love to teach with OLLI members who love to learn.

Visit the OLLI website to submit a course proposal for Fall 2026. Courses can be online, in-person or hybrid.

Still frame of video titled "Why I Teach for OLLI"

May 15

Educator Fellows Application Deadline

There's still time to apply for LEEF's Educator Fellows Program, a new opportunity to partner with the Teaching Hub, Learning Institute or Curriculum Connector to advance evidence-based teaching, faculty development and curricular coherence across UNT. Learn more and apply on the LEEF website.

May 19

Info Session: Submitting a Competitive Eminent Professorship Application

2 p.m. on Zoom

Interested in applying for one of UNT’s three eminent professorships? Review committee members and recent awardees of the Distinguished Teaching, Distinguished Research and Regents Professorships will discuss the application process, share helpful tips and explain changes to the review criteria for this next award cycle. Register on Bridge.

Faculty Spotlights

Leaders from North Texas Association of Energy Engineers pose with UNT Engineering faculty

VIP Visit to Discovery Park

The leadership team at North Texas Association of Energy Engineers visited Discovery Park for a VIP tour and a firsthand look at how UNT is preparing the next generation of engineers and energy leaders.

Learning That Works: Insights from LEEF's PBL Symposium

Read about last week's project-based learning symposium led by faculty from the Department of Multidisciplinary Innovation, including takeaways from faculty, staff and alumni.

2026 Faculty Fellows cohort group photo at graduation

Faculty Fellows Graduation

Congratulations to our 2026 Faculty Fellows! We enjoyed celebrating this outstanding cohort at the May 6 Faculty Fellows Graduation Ceremony.

Throughout the year-long program, Fellows strengthened their skills in strategic thinking, collaboration and change leadership while engaging with leaders and peers across campus. They also completed college- and university-level projects that will lave long-term benefits for the UNT community, from modernizing our curriculum to creating tools for strategic budgeting to improving student and faculty recruitment and retention.

We look forward to seeing our Fellows continue to grow and guide their colleges' work toward realizing UNT's strategic goals.

Real Estate Recognition

UNT has once again secured a prominent position in the Real Estate Academic Leadership (REAL) Rankings, coming in at No. 19 worldwide for research productivity in the 2021–2025 period. REAL Rankings are based on the number of publications in the industry's top three journals: Real Estate Economics, the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics and the Journal of Real Estate Research.

Pictured: With eight publications in the top three real estate journals, FIREL's Dr. Xun Bian ranked 16th in the REAL Author Rankings. Dr. Yingchun Liu ranked 30th, with six publications. And Dr. Hanchen Jiang from Economics contributed an additional publication, bringing UNT’s total to 15.

Funding Opportunities

Faculty Career Development Grants

Open to all ranks of full-time professional and tenure-track faculty, Career Development Grants support a wide range of activities that contribute to professional advancement.

Individual faculty members may apply for up to $2,000 in funding, while teams of 2-6 may apply for grants of up to $4,000.

Apply for a Career Development Grant

CREATE Grants

Tenure-track assistant professors are invited to apply for the CREATE Grant, which supports research and creative activity that broadens perspectives and builds lasting partnerships. Eligible faculty may receive $4,000 (with a possible additional $1,000) to support travel and related expenses for working with a new collaborator outside the DFW area.

CREATE experiences typically include at least four weeks in residence at a host institution.

Apply for a CREATE Grant

From the UNT Libraries

Submit Fall Course Reserves by May 31

The UNT Libraries hold and distributes course reading materials, including some textbooks, for students as requested by instructors. These materials are placed at a services desk or made available online and can include books, articles, chapters of books, sample tests, videos, CDs and DVDs. Contact your subject librarian to learn more or to request the library purchase course materials.

Course Reserve Request Form

Summer Research Support

The Libraries are here to support your summer research! Place online holds on the print books you need and have them delivered directly to your department through the faculty delivery service. To obtain an article or book chapter scan from a print item, submit a document delivery request.

If an item you need is not available through UNT Libraries, you can request it through interlibrary loan (ILL). For speedy service, include a DOI. Contact ILL@unt.edu for more information.

Stay Connected

We want to hear from you!

If you have suggestions or items you'd like to see in our newsletter, please email us at faculty.success@unt.edu.

Find us on X at @UNTFacSuccess and on Instagram at @unt.faculty.success.

facultysuccess.unt.edu

940-565-3987

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﻿Faculty Success Newsletter