The monthly newsletter from UT Arlington Provost Tamara L. Brown

February 12, 2025

Colleagues,

I hope your semester is off to a great start.

Among my top priorities for 2025 and beyond is the amplification of the Maverick Promise, our commitment to supporting students in remaining enrolled, graduating in a timely fashion, and entering the workforce prepared to excel. No matter where you serve, there are countless ways you are supporting this promise, and I look forward to hearing about them all, large or small. I ask that you submit your contributions to the Maverick Promise through the link below, so we may highlight your work and use it as a source of inspiration to continue finding innovative ways to encourage student success.

Among the most visible representations of our commitment to the Maverick Promise is our progress on our student success goals to improve graduation rates among our students. We are working towards achieving a 12.5% increase in 4-year graduation rates by 2030.

In connection with this commitment, I had the opportunity to spend an evening celebrating the Lunar New Year, which marks the arrival of the Year of the Wood Snake—a time for transformation, planning, and growth. During the celebration, I connected with several colleagues and alumni, including one who recently founded a scholarship for UTA students. This initiative illustrates that our alumni are also engaged in supporting student success. Read more below about The Loh Foundation and their dedication to promoting student success.

This year also marks UTA's 130th anniversary. We hope you will join in reflecting in our past and progress as we prepare for the future. Visit UTA's official 130th anniversary website for more information on event details and opportunities for involvement.

Sincerely,

Tamara L. Brown, Ph.D.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

You may submit your contributions to the Maverick Promise here.

The U.S. Department of Education selected UT Arlington as one of six winners for the inaugural year of the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program.

The program celebrates institutions of higher education that are enrolling underserved student populations, facilitating successful student transfers and completions, and equipping graduates for careers that lead to economic mobility.

President Jennifer Cowley and Vice Provost Ashley Purgason were on hand January 14 for a ceremony in Washington D.C. honoring UTA and five other institutions of higher education in this achievement.

The Loh Foundation has awarded UTA an annual scholarship of $25,000 to support engineering, business, and nursing students.

Provost Brown was on hand to accept the scholarship on January 17 at the annual Lunar New Year celebration at Asia Times Square in Grand Prairie. In the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake, a time for transformation, planning, and growth.

The chairman of the board of The Loh Foundation is Matthew G. Loh, a graduate of UTA's mechanical engineering program. The organization's mission is to share Love, create Opportunity, and give Hope to those that need it.

UTA is grateful to The Loh Foundation for its generous contribution to student success!

The University of Texas at Arlington has selected Sean Kelly as the next dean of the Honors College.

Kelly previously served as the director of the Interdisciplinary School for Engagement at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), a position he has held since 2022. He also served as the dean of the Honors College at UTSA from 2016 to 2022 in addition to his appointment as a professor of philosophy and classics.

Kelly assumed his new role at UTA on February 3.

“Dr. Kelly brings extensive experience in honors education that will advance the Honors College commitment to developing citizen-scholars through rigorous academic honors curriculum, creative activity, research and service,” said Tamara L. Brown, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. “Bringing talented educators and leaders to UTA is another way we are upholding our Maverick promise to promote student success.”

Welcome to UTA, Dr. Kelly!

Jon Fagg, director of athletics, and Jewel Washington, vice president of Talent, Culture, and Engagement, invite you to join your colleagues at a men’s basketball game Thursday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m., at College Park Center.

Free tickets are available through the link below. Please use your UTA email address when selecting tickets.

Get your tickets here. You must use promo code UTAFS25.

UTA's SACSCOC committee would like to share the following updates related to the reaffirmation of accreditation process.

The following dates have been lined up for UTA's upcoming SACSCOC process:

- Advisory Visit: February 17-18, 2026

- Observer Opportunity: March 23-26, 2026 (Wake Forest University)

- On-Site Reaffirmation Visit: March 1-4, 2027

Additionally, the university must develop and implement a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). The committee is seeking input from the university community to help identify a topic that focuses on student success, and that is aligned with the university's strategic plan and other institutional priorities.

Please click on the link below to provide your input on a topic for the QEP. The survey will be open for the next week.

QEP topic survey

UTA's Marketing, Messaging, and Engagement (MME) team offers social media guidelines for faculty and staff.

Official social media accounts of UTA colleges, departments, and programs are key to communicating UTA's brand identity to the University’s social media audiences.

Please review these guidelines and reach out to MME with questions.

Plans for UTA West continue to move forward with the completion of several key milestones.

- The University has closed on the purchase of 51 acres for the new campus, located near the border of Tarrant and Parker counties.

- The location for the UTA West storefront will be located in Willow Park.

- UTA will host a groundbreaking ceremony for UTA West on Thursday, April 3. More information to come.

- Academic programming decisions are nearing finalization.

- UTA leaders are working to assess student services needs for the new campus.

Provost Brown's next scheduled office hours session will be February 19 from 9-11 a.m. Faculty, staff, and students can drop by UAB 321 or sign up via email at provost@uta.edu.

Do you have an upcoming event that Provost Brown should speak at or attend? If so, send us the details! Submit a request to the Office of the Provost via the speaker form on our website and we'll let you know if she's available.