Dear colleagues,
When you hit milestones, you should mark them. This new year and semester already have brought welcome news reflecting the progress we aim for, guided by our strategic plan, UTA 2030: Shared Dreams, Bright Future.
UTA has earned the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a national designation honoring how we integrate community-engaged teaching, research, and service into our everyday work. In short, it’s like being R-1, but for community impact. Alumni and community engagement is a core theme of our strategic plan, and this designation is a long-sought goal. I’m proud we have achieved it.
Maverick pride
You keep UTA on course and on mission. Whether you’re helping our students succeed, pursuing strikingly innovative research, or making this University a better and smarter place to work and learn, you ensure UTA is an essential asset for our state. Here are other milestones to celebrate:
|
-
We are one of six Texas universities to receive the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board 2025 Star Award for forward-thinking approaches that help students transition from the classroom to the workforce.
-
More than 500 UTA employees already have been recognized through our MavUp MVP employee recognition program. If you haven’t already done so, tell a colleague you appreciate their work by sending them a digital high five.
-
We have hired more than 75 tenure/tenure-track, research-track faculty and postdoctoral positions as part of our RISE 100 program aimed at strengthening our teaching and research capabilities.
-
UTA students and faculty are receiving national attention. Led by faculty member Patricia Eddings, criminology students who helped local police make an arrest in a cold homicide case received media coverage from The New York Times, USA Today, NBC Nightly News, and The Tamron Hall Show. ABC’s Nightline and its streaming series IMPACT x Nightline on Hulu will both air segments later this week. Meanwhile, CNN featured engineering Professor Dereje Agonafer’s research into cooling data centers.
|
Responding to challenges
There are challenges ahead. Amid significant shifts in federal funding and policy, we must adapt—both to preserve funds that support our mission and to enable us to respond to future challenges. In response, we are launching a Voluntary Separation Program and a Phased Retirement program. These voluntary programs will provide options and incentives for those considering retirement that honor their long-standing contributions to UTA. Eligible employees will receive more information about these programs this week.
The year ahead
UTA has big plans for 2026 and numerous opportunities to come together as a campus, including:
|
-
One of the best ways to feel connected to our community is by cheering on our Maverick athletic teams. Watch our women’s basketball team take on Utah Tech on Jan. 15 and see our men tackle Tarleton State on Jan. 21. Both games are at College Park Center. Our wheelchair basketball teams host a tournament Jan. 23-24, and baseball and softball get started in February. It’s an exciting time to be a Maverick.
- Our next Maverick Speakers Series guest is veteran journalist Bob Schieffer, who will reflect on his legendary career and share the stories behind the photos he has donated to our Special Collections. I hope you join us Feb. 10 at Texas Hall.
-
We are targeting our most heavily utilized academic buildings for much-needed maintenance, including new roofs and updated elevators, classrooms, and restrooms. You can expect to see work beginning on the College of Business Building, Fine Arts Building, UTA Library, Nedderman Hall, and University Hall this summer.
|
We’re starting this semester with strong momentum, and there is so much to look forward to here. I’m excited to see what you accomplish this semester and proud of the community we continue to build together.
|
Jennifer Cowley, Ph.D.
President
|
|
| 701 S. Nedderman Drive | Arlington, TX 76019 US
|
|
|
This email was sent to jeff.carlton@uta.edu.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
|
|
|
|
