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INNOVATION
See a video chronicling UNT’s journey to Tier One status. northtexan.unt.edu/tier-one
Tier One Once Again
For the third time, UNT is ranked among elite doctoral universities in the Carnegie Classification.
The Carnegie Classification of Insti-
tutions of Higher Education™ — a highly regarded framework for measuring universities’ research activity and graduate programs — reaffirmed UNT’s standing as a Tier One Research University in its 2021 report, released Feb. 2. Only 141 universities nationwide are classified as “Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity,” which places UNT among the nation’s most elite, top-tier research institutions. In 2020, UNT was named one of only 18 Tier One research universities designated as a Hispanic-Serving and Minority-Serving Institution. Participating in the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Aspire: National Alliance for Inclusive and Diverse STEM Faculty, UNT has been committed to developing faculty recruitment, hiring and retention practices specifically for underrepresented populations in STEM. “UNT’s continued inclusion in Carnegie’s ‘very high research activity’ classification is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff as we’ve strengthened our research enterprise across the board the last several years,” says UNT President Neal Smatresk, noting that UNT was first included in the Carnegie rankings in 2015.
— Eden Henson
The UNT counseling graduate student proposed an idea for a We Mean Green Fund project that would create a designated area for plants that are native to the region and known to attract pollinators. UNT’s We Mean Green Fund works to benefit the community through conservation, sustainability and education.
NEW RESEARCH LEADER NAMED
Pamela Padilla (pictured), dean of
the College of Science, has been appointed vice president of research and innovation. She will succeed Mark McLellan upon his retirement June 5.
A professor of biological sciences, Padilla joined UNT in 2002. She previously worked as associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Science and was permanently appointed UNT’s associate vice president for research and innovation in October 2019, after serving one year as interim. In 2010, she earned the UNT Early Career Award for Research and Creativity, and she was a Faculty Leadership Fellow from 2015 to 2016.
“I am honored to continue working with UNT’s innovative faculty, staff and students as we advance our mission to support and facilitate and empower impactful research,” Padilla says. “This is an exciting time at UNT as we continue our rise as a national research university.”
INNOVATIVE SPACE FUNDED
UNT has been given the green light
to use tuition revenue bonds to build a 167,700-square-foot research facility to provide an additional state-ofthe-art space for faculty and student researchers to carry out solutionsbased research.
The construction project is possible thanks to Texas’ 87th Legislature, which authorized UNT for $113.4 million in tuition revenue bonds. With legislative approval, universities are allowed to sell tuition revenue bonds to fund construction of needed future facilities.
“For our university to continue its incredible momentum, we must provide a more modern space to accommodate the cutting-edge research taking place at UNT,” President Neal Smatresk says. “Adding this new facility will ensure we are able to meet our growing demands so our faculty can continue their research collaborations to help move society forward.”
INNOVATION
spoTlighT
Simulated Classroom, Real Learning
BEFORE RHONDA CHRISTENSEN
ENTERED THE CLASSROOM as a first-year teacher, she thought she was well-prepared for the rigors of the role. As an education major, she had taken all the required courses and completed her pre-service hours, assisting seasoned instructors with curriculum and classroom management.
But once captain of her own classroom ship, Christensen realized there were challenges she had never been forced to confront: students with Individualized Education Programs and 504 plans. Language and learning barriers. A mix of socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds that required a deft — and equitable — approach to instruction and interaction.
“I know how hard it is to get support when you’re a classroom teacher,” says Christensen, now a research professor of learning technologies and director of UNT’s Institute for the Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning.
Inspired by those early experiences, Christensen and Gerald Knezek, Regents Professor of learning technologies (pictured), recently applied for and received an $840,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to use artificial intelligence to increase teacher efficacy and equity and diversity in K-12 classrooms.
In the project, Christensen and Knezek will use simSchool — a simulation program focused on enhancing K-12 professional development classroom experiences — to analyze teachers’ interactions with students. The simSchool modules are designed to help teachers become more effective instructors by preparing them for challenges inherent in the classroom environment as well as identify implicit biases they may have.
The project will roll out over the next three years with teachers in California-based Aspire Public School. Teachers will engage with each module a minimum of five times, with the modules providing an equity index that illuminates any implicit biases or areas for growth. Once participants complete the modules, Christensen and Knezek will analyze trends within the data.
“The more practice you can have with kids who you may not interact with in real-life teacher preparation programs, the better,” Christensen says. “Kids are very different, and you need different strategies for different kids.” — Erin Cristales
Research Roundup
Productive Year: UNT saw record growth productivity last year, with the total number of research proposals rising 17% from $213 million in fiscal year 2020 to $251.4 million in fiscal year 2021. The university secured its highest-ever level of external funding, with a 25% increase from $39.9 million to $50.0 million in sponsored awards.
Blood-clotting Breakthrough: Department of Biological Sciences professor Pudur Jagadeeswaran believes he has identified a way to manipulate a protein called TFPI with a drug currently being used in cancer treatments to treat clotting disorders more efficiently with few side effects.
TAMS is Tops: Three students at UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science took first place in the Amazon Web Services DeepRacer Student League Competition, the world’s first autonomous car racing league.
Reprogramming Cells: Clement Chan, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and member of UNT’s BioDiscovery Institute, and Faruck Morcos, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and member of UTD’s Center for Systems Biology, have created a coevolutionary modeling approach that engineers mutations in combined proteins to ensure their compatibility and eliminate costly, time-consuming trial and error.
Find the full stories at northtexan.unt.edu/researchroundup.
MICHAEL R. WILLIAMS, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE
UNT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER, took the reins as the UNT System’s fourth chancellor early this year. In his tenure as president, as well as a member of the UNT System Board of Regents, Williams has played a key role in UNT’s explosive growth and the incredible successes of the larger system. Here, he outlines his vision for the UNT System’s future, and how it can draw upon its values-based culture, leading-edge research and student-focused approach to further bolster its local, national and global prominence.
What are some of your greatest accomplishments as president of UNTHSC and as a member of the UNT System Board of Regents, and how will those inform your role as chancel-
lor? I am proud of many accomplishments at HSC — including several financial achievements, such as not increasing tuition since 2013, doubling our total assets and tripling HSC’s overall net position. The one accomplishment I will always go back to is the people-first, values-based culture we created, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit we instilled in our university. We can similarly focus on culture, innovation and entrepreneurism at UNT System and transform higher education as we know it today.
What are some of your initial priorities as you begin your
tenure as UNT System chancellor? I’m looking forward to the opportunity to build a culture that empowers our greatest resource — our people — and creating an environment that fosters innovation and transforms higher education to better meet the needs of our customers and current market. To me, it is all about our people, our students and their families. We need to develop our value proposition as a system in order to maximize our potential and impact. I plan to continue to meet with faculty, staff, alumni and students to listen to their ideas and their thoughts.
How do you see your background in medicine and business
translating to your leadership of the UNT System? I have always been someone who asks why and capitalizes on
QMICHAEL R. WILLIAMS opportunities to innovate. Throughout my career as an anesthesiologist, CEO and entrepreneur, I have always THE UNT SYSTEM’S NEW CHANCELLOR BRINGS AN INNOVATIVE, ENTREPRENEURIAL VISION FOR THE FUTURE. TEXT BY ERIN CRISTALES + A maintained that the way things are done now doesn’t mean they have to be done that way forever. That mindset led me to several entrepreneurial opportunities. Higher education is ripe for positive change and, frankly, the industry’s value proposition is at risk of becoming obsolete. Today, we are seeing large industries building their own training programs for that reason. But the UNT System can address that by thinking like a business with innovative ideas, concepts and approaches. Follow your dreams. Commit yourself. You’re going to need some help, but you have to put yourself in a position to receive the help and take advantage of the help.
How will you help the UNT System continue to elevate its
standing among research universities? UNT continues to establish itself as a rising Carnegie Tier One research institution. Our flagship has spent the last several years strengthening its research enterprise — from bolstering equipment and spaces to helping faculty researchers be more competitive in the grant process. We will continue to invest in research at UNT and across our system. We also will continue to think outside the box. I’ve talked about being entrepreneurial, and that mindset certainly applies to our ability to grow research. How can we be disruptive in our efforts to become a catalyst for positive change? What problems can we solve that others are not? Just because research has always been done a certain way doesn’t mean there’s not a better approach. We will not leave any stone Read more of the Q&A. unturned as we work to maximize our impact on North Texas and beyond as a leader in growing research. northtexan.unt.edu/ michael-williams.
