It is hard to believe that I have been with The University of Texas at Arlington for a full year now. The days have gone by quickly, and it has been my sincere pleasure to meet thousands of the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members who make this University remarkable.
As I reflect on my first year as your president, I am humbled by the support you all have shown and the spirit of optimism I have seen for where UTA is headed. It’s hard to put into words what makes UTA so impressive because it’s this wonderful, intangible spirit within our community. I see it within all those I meet—a fortitude, a culture of collaboration, and a desire to create a lasting impact. YOU are what makes UTA great.
My first year has been marked by many exciting accomplishments at UTA. It is great to see the effort our Maverick family is putting toward reaching our Texas-sized dreams. As I shared at my investiture ceremony in September, our state needs us to dream big. My own dream for UTA is for us to be one of the most impactful and inclusive research universities in this country and, working together, for us to be a force for positive impact across Texas.
Here’s a highlight of UTA’s recent accomplishments:
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These successes are not my successes, they are all of ours. They are the successes of the faculty and staff who helped us achieve the Seal of Excelencia. They’re the successes of students who came together to leave their mark on UTA. They belong to all of us, and we should feel proud to share these accomplishments as our own.
We’ve also seen tremendous progress in just a short time on our key strategic themes.
I’m excited to share with you some of the feedback I’ve received around the many new initiatives, efforts, programs, and more we have launched over the last year, and to provide some updates on what’s ahead for UTA as we trailblaze toward a better Texas for all.
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Thank you to our employees for your continued hard work at UTA. I am impressed by your go-getter attitudes and willingness to continue to grow and develop. We’ve had a number of you access our new professional development resource Academic Impressions, and I’ve also heard that several of you are gearing up to take advantage of our enhanced employee tuition assistance plan.
Our Talent, Culture, and Inclusion team is hard at work launching a new MavTemp program to support short-term administrative staffing needs. They have also invested in market adjustments for hundreds of staff and faculty and made a range of process improvements.
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“UTA has done everything to prepare me for my future. With the number of opportunities to build myself professionally, I feel I am a great candidate for any job I go into, as well as good competition for other applicants.” —Liam Rhodes (’23 B.S., Social Work)
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One of UTA’s greatest strengths is the diversity of our student population; we are stronger because of the unique experiences they bring to this community. We have a number of new and ongoing initiatives to support a rich environment where all students can thrive, such as the Provost’s Nationwide Insurance Faculty Fellowship Supporting Equity in Student Success program, for which we recently selected our first fellow. This opportunity supports faculty as they directly contribute to our mission of student access and equitable outcomes.
Our Division of Student Affairs also has a lot to celebrate, as it has increased dedicated internship partners by 43% over the past year and is seeing great improvement to student participation in internships. In December 2022, we also launched our new MavPlanner tool, which has been used by students to help with long-term degree planning.
The ongoing success of our students is a collaborative effort, as we ensure they are ready for their future. Along with expanding graduate tuition support, we’re also working to enhance scholarship and financial aid efforts to recruit and retain students.
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“Many thanks to Wendy and her team at the Grants and Contracts Office. With several weeks of planning, strategizing, and working late into the night and weekends, UTA finally and successfully submitted the revised application... This was truly a team collaboration that involved more than 30 investigators at UTA and at least 12 external community partners. We may have created a model for other center proposals that may be developed in future.”
—Michael Cho, Ph.D, FAIMBE, Professor and Chair of Bioengineering Department
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Not a day goes by since I started that I have not received an email about or heard an amazing story on the research our faculty are conducting. I’m regularly touring our research spaces and learning about the real-world impact our research is making locally and globally. We’re also already seeing successes, as our new Center for Proposal Development is hard at work supporting our faculty on what’s next for their research.
In May, I’ll be speaking at the inaugural State of Higher Education hosted on our campus in partnership with the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Tarrant County College District. There, I will have the opportunity to share a number of impactful and life-enhancing research stories thanks to the work you do at UTA.
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Alumni & Community Engagement
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“UTA is an incredible partner in the community. We align on a shared commitment to developing a diverse workforce and helping students from all backgrounds achieve their dreams of earning a college degree. We thank President Cowley and UTA as a whole for their investment in North Texas and the next generation of energy innovators.” —Annette Underwood, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Vistra Corp
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This past year, we’ve focused our energy on developing our partnerships in the community and strengthening our alumni relations. We hosted more than 30 events with alumni and community members with over 6,600 attendees this first year. Our Alumni Relations team is also working hard to build our chapter and affinity groups by relaunching the Alumni@WorkChapter for alumni who work on campus, resuming in-person events for our Fort Worth Alumni Chapter, and exploring interest in a number of new chapters. If you or someone you know is interested in joining an alumni chapter, reach out to alumni@uta.edu.
We have also built new corporate partnerships, raising over $6 million in corporate gifts and over $3 million in foundation support since this time last year. These gifts go on to support faculty research, scholarships, study abroad, various programs, and more.
Over the past year, our students have outdone themselves in support of our community as well. With over 160 service-learning courses and thousands of students involved, they have made a significant difference to Arlington and the broader metroplex.
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“The new Smart Hospital has given me new joy with simulations! The rooms are set up exactly like hospital rooms, making the simulation experience more realistic for us. The beauty of the building itself and the new additions make it perfect for nursing students to enjoy studying there.” —Evelyn Zaragoza, President of UTA’s Hispanic Student Nurses Association
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One of the things I am most excited about is the future of our campus. This year, we achieved a major accomplishment by opening our new School of Social Work and College of Nursing and Health Innovation Smart Hospital.
We’ve also made significant investments in our student spaces. Some of the improvements include the Planetarium Plaza’s new outside study area and the College of Business’ enhanced engagement spaces for students and faculty to meet before and after classes, as well as improvements to over 90 classrooms in more than 12 buildings.
Our team continues to identify new opportunities for enhancement, including continuing work on our new Greek Life Center, which is expected to open this fall on Greek Row, and relocating our Center for Cultural Engagement and Social Change within the University Center. Planning is underway for the Cooper Street Bridge renewal, Life Sciences renovation and expansion, and a new residence hall. We are also exploring how we can best utilize the vacated School of Social Work space.
What a year! For a summary of our accomplishments and ongoing work under each strategic theme, visit our strategic plan webpage here. As I announced earlier this month, we are actively engaged in our strategic planning process, and I encourage you to provide your feedback in the form on the website.
I can’t thank this community enough for the warm welcome y’all have given me in my first year. If it’s possible, I am even more excited now about the prospects for our future than I was on day one. It’s been a year of success, laughter, and change as we transform UTA for the future together. This community is why I am here, and I could not be more thankful.
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Jennifer Cowley, Ph.D. UTA President
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The University of Texas at Arlington 701 S. Nedderman Drive | Arlington, TX 76019 US
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