The monthly newsletter from UT Arlington Provost Tamara L. Brown

January 16, 2026

Colleagues –

I hope your semester is off to a smooth start. I know you have hit the ground running, and I’m grateful for the energy and dedication you bring to your work. This semester, we welcome more than 42,000 students back to campus—each with their own goals, challenges, and aspirations—and your commitment plays a vital role in supporting their success.

Expanding and strengthening the connection between education and community engagement is among President Cowley’s top priorities. Just days into the new year, we announced significant progress on this initiative: UTA has been recognized with the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement. This prestigious national designation recognizes sustained, meaningful collaboration between an institution and the communities it serves. It is not a simple award, but a rigorous, evidence-based classification that places UTA among a select group of institutions nationwide distinguished for the quality and impact of their community engagement. Congratulations to our faculty, staff, and students for this remarkable achievement. Read more below.

In the year ahead, I will continue to share updates on the advancement of our other ambitious strategic initiatives, including RISE 100 and UTA West. This spring, we will also host on-campus interviews to identify the next deans of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation and the College of Business. Please keep an eye out for additional information, and I encourage you to participate and share your feedback as we work together to bring the best and brightest to UTA. Eleven of the best and brightest have already joined us this semester as new faculty members. I met with them this past week, and their excitement to be at UTA is palpable.

I would also like to encourage you to take advantage of the many resources available to you as we navigate the challenges and opportunities of the semester. Faculty Success, Student Affairs, OIT, TCE, and numerous other units across campus offer a range of tools, strategies, and support to assist you in your work.

Have a wonderful semester!

With Maverick Pride -

Tamara L. Brown, Ph.D.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

UTA has been recognized with the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a national designation reflecting how community-engaged teaching, research and service are built into the everyday work of the University. Read more here.

The Office of Electronic and Information Resources Accessibility (EIRAC) has created a course content Accessibility Exemption request form. The Digital Course Content Accessibility Exception Request, or DCAREQ, has been designed to document course materials that are inaccessible and cannot be remediated without compromising instructional integrity. If you are unsure if your content qualifies for an exemption, please submit the form for review.

You may visit the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence (CRTLE) site for additional information, resources, and tools to assist in meeting content accessibility requirements. You may direct any questions to your college’s digital champion, also identified on the CRTLE site.

Step into an interactive space where faculty can explore digital tools and learn practical strategies for integrating technology, and get instant technology “recipes” you can practice and take back to your courses right away. Thirty-minute sessions followed by time to practice and explore will be held in Trinity Hall at the OIT Service Desk, first-floor lobby, with breakout sessions in Rooms 112 and 105 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Bring your own device (laptop, iPad, mobile device). Access Adobe Express before the workshop. Space is limited!

On January 22, the focus of the session will be "Supercharge your Syllabus: Multi-modal Design in Adobe Express."

ABC News journalist and former Maverick Speaker Series guest John Quiñones returned to UTA to speak with criminology students about their work to break a 34-year-old homicide cold case.

Now streaming on Hulu, the "Impact x Nightline" episode "Never See You Again" explores the death of Cynthia Gonzalez and highlights how UTA Professor Patricia Eddings and students worked alongside Arlington Police Department to break the case. This partnership is part of a new course that launched just last fall.

Additionally, Eddings and two students from her cold case class recently appeared on the Tamron Hall Show, a nationally syndicated daytime program, along with the victim's daughter Jessica Roberts.

In addition to extensive coverage in the local media, the student-assisted arrest captured the attention of The New York Times, NBC News, and USA Today among other national news outlets.

Learn more here.

UTA's Maverick Speaker Series welcomes veteran CBS Journalist Bob Schieffer to campus on February 10. Tickets are free for UTA faculty, staff, and students. Learn more here.

Additionally, UTA Libraries' Special Collections is hosting Our Man in Vietnam, a collection of photographs donated by Schieffer. The exhibit opens January 20.

To celebrate its 150th anniversary, Arlington will host a year-long celebration throughout 2026 with activities and events for residents and visitors alike.

You may sign up for the city's newsletter at www.arlingtontx.gov/enews to learn about upcoming programs, events, and other opportunities to participate in this historic celebration.

Dr. Peggy Semingson, Interim Director of the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence (CRTLE) and Associate Professor of TESOL in the College of Liberal Arts, has been inducted into the University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

This honor recognizes faculty across the UT System whose work exemplifies excellence in teaching, faculty development, and innovation in higher education. Dr. Semingson was inducted during a ceremony in Austin, where she joined colleagues from across the system in conversations about the future of teaching and learning.

You may submit your Maverick Promise and how you are upholding that promise here.

Provost Brown's next scheduled office hours session will be Thursday, February 19 from 2 - 4 p.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 attend or speak? If so, send us the details! Submit a request to the Office of the Provost via the form on our website and we'll let you know if she's available.

Have a story idea?

Have something that you want us to highlight in a future newsletter? If so, submit your idea to provost@uta.edu.

Missed an edition of the newsletter?

Prior editions of the monthly newsletter can be found online here.